Mike Monroe

Column by Mike Monroe Not once since the NBA began in 1946 has a team lost a regular-season game by 30 points and gone on to win an NBA championship. This is fact, gleaned from a search on basketball-reference.com, which any fan with even a shred of interest in league history should bookmark. Does this […]
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As if there had been any doubt before he demolished the Spurs in the worst home loss in Tim Duncan’s 16 seasons, Portland’s Damian Lillard has turned this season’s Rookie of the Year race into a one-man contest. Leading all first-year players in scoring (18.8 ppg) and assists (6.4 apg), he has lapped the field […]
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By Mike Monroe, Staff Writer For the first time in nearly two weeks, the Spurs on Saturday were given a day off from work. Since returning from the rodeo road trip Feb. 24, the Spurs had been called to report to their team practice complex every day since Feb. 26 for a workout, but coach […]
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Compiled by NBA beat writer Mike Monroe through Friday (last week’s rank in parentheses): TOP 10 1. Heat (1): News: Miami clinches a postseason berth. Views: This is news? Really? 2. Thunder (3): Oklahoma City fans have a point worrying about Kevin Martin’s shooting on the road, where he’s at 37 percent in his last […]
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Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s candidacy to become the next coach of the U.S. Olympic men’s team gained a bit of momentum Friday when 76ers coach Doug Collins effectively took his name out of consideration for the job. Because of his long friendship with Team USA CEO Jerry Colangelo, Collins had been considered a dark horse […]
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All-Star point guard Tony Parker literally took his first steps on the road to recovery from a Grade 2 ankle sprain on Friday.

“I ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes,” Parker said, grinning. “I know the rumors are out there about that.”

The source of the rumors: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who reported before the game that a workout had been planned for Parker, who suffered the injury during a 130-102 victory over the Kings at AT&T Center on March 1.

“(Head athletic trainer) Will Sevening told me he was going to try to get him to walk on the treadmill today,” Popovich said. “Whether that actually happened I’m not sure.”

An MRI on March 2 revealed the extent of Parker’s injury and the estimate for Parker’s absence was set at four weeks.

Aware of Parker’s history of recovering from injuries earlier than anticipated, Popovich expressed optimism his leading scorer and assists man will beat the initial estimate for his return.

“It could be earlier than four,” he said.

On a night when the Spurs suffered their worst loss ever at AT&T Center, the thought of an early return for Parker was a small bit of good news.

Few second thoughts: Friday’s 30-point loss to the Trail Blazers left scant opportunity for second guessing individual plays, and that was the one and only consolation, said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.

“Tonight, it’s going to be easier to sleep than (after) Golden State, for example, where you think about every little mistake you made down the stretch that could have given you the win,” said the Spurs guard, noting the 107-101 overtime loss to the Warriors in a game in which the Spurs blew a 13-point fourth-quarter lead at Oracle Arena last month.

“Today, there was not many things that could have gotten us a win. So during the game you are frustrated and disappointed and embarrassed with the other team scoring 136. But you just say, hey, they kicked our butts and start thinking about Oklahoma City.”

Impressing Pop: Even before he scored 35 points in Friday’s game, Portland’s rookie point guard Damian Lillard had gained the admiration of Popovich for a season that likely is going to make him Rookie of the Year.

“He’s had a wonderful rookie year,” Popovich said before tipoff. “He’s been very consistent, great demeanor, played well in a lot of different ways. He’s done a really fine job in a lot of different ways.

“He’s going to be a heck of a player. He already is a heck of a player, but I would imagine he’ll be a heck of a player in Portland for a long time.”

The leading scorer among NBA rookies, Lillard has scored at least 20 points in five consecutive games. He was three points shy of his rookie season high in Friday’s contest.

By Mike Monroe, Staff writer In the midst of a third-quarter rally that sparked Wednesday’s win over the Bulls, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called out a play for Cory Joseph, the second-year point guard who has spent the bulk of his career in the D-League. Then Popovich had a second thought as Joseph, making his […]
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Of all the injuries suffered in Manu Ginobili’s 11 seasons with the Spurs, none was more painful than what he experienced Wednesday. Dante Ginobili, one of the identical twin sons of Manu and Many Ginobili, suffered a fractured right arm in an accident at the family’s home. Ginobili explained that Dante, two months shy of […]
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Six weeks into a season that now finds his team atop the Western Conference standings, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expressed cautious optimism that his players had taken to heart his admonition that they get back to the sort of defense that characterized championship runs in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. “We’re a better defensive team […]
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A dominant inside force in high school and college, DeJuan Blair didn’t concern himself with a mid-range game until he landed on the Spurs’ roster as the 37th overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft. During his three-plus seasons, Blair has worked to expand his range, adding a mid-range shot that is more set shot […]
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